Charles Barnett, the managing director of Aintree racecourse, has invited everyone to his grand annual event at Aintree next week but he has not, as yet, received all that many replies.

Whereas entries for Cheltenham's Festival in March are frequently made months in advance, Liverpool sticks to the five-day system for most of its events, so it will not be until tomorrow morning, when the fields for Thursday's opening day arrive in his inbox, that this year's Grand National meeting will start to take shape.

He does not seem unduly worried, however, that the three-day Aintree Festival might not come up to scratch. Cheltenham may dominate the early spring, while Ireland's Punchestown Festival in late April also grows stronger by the year, but Aintree has carved itself a niche in the last 20 years that will not be easily relinquished.

It is not simply a fall-back option for horses which could not run at Cheltenham for some reason. Aintree also offers events and opportunities that the earlier Festival cannot, such as the 20-furlong Aintree Hurdle, which this year promises to bring together Hardy Eustace, the former champion hurdler, and My Way De Solzen, the new champion stayer over timber.

Other horses, meanwhile, simply do not get on with Cheltenham, with Beef Or Salmon, the best flat-track chaser in training, being an obvious example. He will be among the entries for the Betfair Bowl on Thursday when the list arrives tomorrow, although Michael Hourigan, his trainer, has yet to fully commit him to the race.

"He's got over his run in the Gold Cup, there's no doubt about that," Hourigan said yesterday, "but as for Aintree, all we're doing at the moment is putting him in and then having a look at the other entries to see what the story is.

"He's got an entry at Punchestown as well, and he's also in the Irish National, so we'll have a choice to make, and the ground is something we'll have to think about too."

Barnett, clearly, would be delighted to see Beef Or Salmon arrive in Liverpool next week. "It suits us to be different and to offer a different challenge [to Cheltenham]," he said yesterday. "Beef Or Salmon is just the sort of horse who could well be suited by Aintree, as it's flat all the way, the field sizes are always smaller than those at Cheltenham as a result of the safety limit on the Mildmay course, and there is a straight, level approach to all the fences."

The timing of Liverpool's meeting relative to Cheltenham can be anything between two and four weeks, though this year it is the usual three weeks.

"A fortnight always makes it difficult for trainers if a horse has had even a nick or a scratch in its last race, because it's hard to treat them with something and then be sure that it's going to be out of their system," Barnett says. "Ten years ago it was only a two-week gap, and Rough Quest won the National after running second in the Gold Cup, but next year it should be four."

The safety of the runners and riders in all races next week, and the National in particular, will be of paramount concern, not least after the death of nine horses during the four days of the Cheltenham Festival.

Only yesterday, the animal rights group Animal Aid issued a press release describing the races as "an infamous killing field that exposes the increasing fragility of the thoroughbred."

Barnett insists that the course has done "a tremendous amount over the last five or 10 years," including an increase to the size of the toe-board on fences to improve their visibility. There have also been recent alterations to the Canal Turn to reduce problems with the field bunching at the obstacle, while the course will attempt to ensure that the ground is no faster than good.

Officials are reporting the ground as good to soft, soft in places on the National course and good to soft on the Mildmay track. "There was no rain at Aintree today but we are forecast an unsettled few days," reported the track's commercial director Dickon White last night.

In news concerning the big race itself, it was announced yesterday that Ballycassidy, a 25-1 shot with Totesport, will bypass the Grand National in favour of a run in a handicap chase the previous day. Ballycassidy was last seen finishing 14th for Graham Lee behind War Of Attrition in the Cheltenham Gold Cup earlier this month but is likely to be ridden by Richard Johnson at Aintree.

Johnson's ride in the National is not as clear-cut, however, as the leading jockey is still without a partner for the world's greatest steeplechase - despite riding over 150 winners this season. "There is no booked ride for him as of yet," reported Johnson's agent, Dave Roberts.

Meanwhile, Noel Fehily has given Jonjo O'Neill a boost by recovering from a broken ankle which kept him out of the Cheltenham Festival.

O'Neill would like Fehily to ride Risk Accessor in the National and could get his wish, as he has been given the all-clear to return to competitive action tomorrow. Fehily has ridden in the Aintree feature for the last five years, with his sixth-placed finish aboard the Charlie Mann-trained Celibate being the highlight.